Crews Battle Rapidly Spreading Fire on Otay Mountain
Cal Fire crews are battling a brush fire that erupted on Otay Mountain Thursday afternoon.
The fire, which has been named the “Border 2 Fire,” was reported after 2:15 p.m. in the area of Otay Mountain Truck Trail in the Otay Wilderness Area.
According to Cal Fire, it is currently 148 acres as of 3:45 p.m., but has a dangerous rate of spread with the potential to burn through 500 acres. ALERT California cameras appeared to show the fire burning up hill. As of 3:45 p.m., it is 0% contained.
More than 91 personnel have been dispatched from Cal Fire to the scene, including helicopters and other aircraft making drops overhead.
No structures are believed to be threatened at this time, although there are a few transmitters used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on top of the mountain and several structures at its base — including two detention centers.
The fire caused a massive plume of smoke to blow from the mountain. Due to the Santa Ana winds, the smoke appeared to be moving west, over Otay Mesa and Tijuana.
More than 91 personnel have been dispatched from Cal Fire to the scene, including helicopters and other aircraft making drops overhead.
No structures are believed to be threatened at this time, although there are a few transmitters used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on top of the mountain and several structures at its base — including two detention centers.
The fire caused a massive plume of smoke to blow from the mountain. Due to the Santa Ana winds, the smoke appeared to be moving west, over Otay Mesa and Tijuana.
In a post on X, Chula Vista fire officials are monitoring the fire. While smoke is visible, they say it does not pose an immediate threat residents at this time, although residents are advised to take precaution going outside due to the smoke impacting air conditions.
The fire is one of two that sparked almost simultaneously at different parts of the county as high winds continue to lash the region. The second ignited in La Jolla, prompting emergency officials to issue evacuation orders for nearby areas. All orders have since been lifted.
Much of the county has been under a Red Flag Warning throughout the week for conditions that could create critical fire risk, given continued arid weather and Santa Ana winds.
According to the National Weather Service, wind speeds in the area of the Border 2 Fire were recorded of 28 miles per hour, with gusts up to 38 miles per hour. Meanwhile, relative humidity was placed around 6%.
Fire crews were quick to put out a number of potentially dangerous fires throughout the week, including several that burned outside the boundaries of the area under a Red Flag Warning. The pair of brush fires brought the total number of blazes to erupt to three on Thursday alone.
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